An actor’s attempt to create a new, distinct character every week, for fifty weeks. Video every FRIDAY.

Week 36: The Unhappily Married Artists

[Watch in HD and hit full-screen if you can]

{First off, let me introduce the wonderful Lindsay Benner, and thank her very much. Seriously, check out her website. She’s a genius and she’ll knock your socks off. If you’re in L.A. and have a chance to see her perform, don’t miss it.}

This week’s episode was 100% improvised.

It was also the most difficult thing that I have ever edited. Ever. By a long shot. Those of you paying close attention (any of you?) may notice that this episode is three days late. That’s because it damn near broke my mind. I went into a lot of the details in the blog entry I put up on Friday called Lost in a Sea of Footage, and I don’t want to repeat myself, so check that out if you’re interested.

One thing I thought it would be fun to mention, though, is that bit toward the end where she’s juggling my heads. File that one under “it seemed like a good idea at the time”. I have no idea how many hours I spent on that one clip. It took me about a day and a half of working on just that bit. A day and a half. That’s a TWENTY-SECOND CLIP. Maddening. Madness. The reason it took so long is “keyframing”. See, I had to do each head individually (and yes, they’re all really talking and moving, and match each to one of Lindsay’s juggling balls. Every time that ball changes direction or speed, you have to set another point (keyframe). By hand. Here is an example of the path that just one ball took:

Keyframe Track - 1 Ball

Now here’s all four of the paths at once:

keyframe track - all

I have no idea how many individual points there are. If I had to guess, I’d say maybe 800. Totally ridiculous.

SO, after all the hullabaloo, where do we stand? Well, I think I really like this episode a lot. I like that it goes from extremes of pure silliness to some really dark, disturbing places, and hits some shades of gray in between. It kind of encapsulates, I think, why 50in50 hasn’t really caught on. It’s a weird thing that doesn’t fit cleanly in any boxes. It’s somewhere in between “sketch comedy” and “artistic shorts”. I’m embracing that. It’s a 50in50. Even if it only gets ten views, I’m proud of this one. So there.

IN OTHER NEWS: 50in50 may see some delays due to the upcoming production of Richard II I’m in. Rehearsals are ramping up, and we open in about 2.5 weeks, so things are going to get crazy. If I can get another one out in that time, I will, if not, I hope you’ll forgive me and tune in again when I’m back. 50in50 is extremely important to me, but it’s at least as important to me that I’m on point when I’m in a play, especially when I think it has potential to be great. It’s a limited run so GET TICKETS NOW!!

This is really excellent work, Brent. This one is a great short on its own separate from the project. I’d have to say my favorite line is “Claire brings nothing to the table but her juggling.” Perfect. (Lindsay’s amazing by the way- her juggling and her acting!) You rock!